To br(e)ake or not to br(e)ake

Bombat Monday morning..... thankfully no associated blues :)!

As usual, took a cycle to my building which is quite some distance from the main gate. Enroute, my progress was impeded by a large truck lumbering lazily along the road. Now I have to confess that I cycle very fast (sometimes to wake up, sometimes just for the thrill of it). Seeing the truck take up almost the entire road, I applied the left brake to slow down. No reaction – meaning left brake kaput ! Sigh....right brake then (was mentally prepared for the cycle to buck up like a horse). To my horror, right brake also kaput !!

Now what? I did not even think of this question.....

As I gathered the speed like a rock rolling downhill, I wistfully thought of all the things that I wanted to do. There was no fear...regret would have been more apt. Irrationally, I wondered whether I could accomplish all these things with a broken body (part) – if that was to be the result of this collision. Well....optimism at its best - that's me :)!

The truck, as if having a mind of its own (dabba-nan-maga driver), careened to the left to take a turn. And I happily sailed thorough the gap like steam out of a pressure-cooker at around 70 km/hour, risked a turn, bumped against the guardrail and THUD! Cycle to my right, bag to my left, and me sitting Buddha eshtyle. Got up slowly only to sit down with a grimace – I had sprained my left ankle. Sheesh..…not again ! After the black spots cleared, I gathered my belongings and limped over to the security guard where I asked him for a white placard and a red-marker. With great concentration (I needed that to ignore my ankle) I wrote – “DANGER – NO BRAKES”. Stared hard for some time and added a good-looking skull-mark for good measure (anyone remember Phantom?) :)! Finally handed it over to the guard with a firm instruction to affix it to the cycle lying on the grass outside and left him agog . Hyuck hyuck...I seem to be having that effect on quite some people these days :)!

Right now, I am sitting cross-legged on my chair trying to ignore the nagging pain in my slowly-swelling-ankle.

Sigh.....so much for NOT having Monday-morning blues!